Specifically, The Voice takes issue with the figures related to child prostitution in the United States. In April, the Demi and Ashton Foundation (DNA) launched a series of high-profile online videos designed to raise awareness of child sex slavery in the U.S.
The videos, which feature celebrities like Justin Timberlake, Bradley Cooper, Sean Penn and Jaime Foxx, take on the issue by juxtaposing humorous “Real Man” stereotypes with the underlying message that “Real Men Don’t Buy Girls.”
The Village Voice addresses the campaign and the statistics that it finds inaccurate in an article titled, “Real Men Get Their Facts Straight.”
A Question of Accurate Statistics
< hr />In media appearances promoting the DNA Foundation and its “Real Men” campaign, Kutcher invoked the frequently cited statistic that between 100,000 and 300,000 children are used for prostitution every year.
Kutcher isn’t the only person touting this figure. As The Voice points out, other publications including CNN, The New York Times and USA Today have all repeated this figure.
The problem, according to The Voice, is that the figure is inaccurate. It came from a report published by two University of Pennsylvania professors.
Not only does the figure itself not refer to actual child prostitutes — instead the 100,000 to 300,000 figure is related to children who are “at risk” for sexual exploitation — The Voice contends that the number of child prostitutes is actually a much smaller fraction.
Why Attack Ashton?
Even if we concede that the 100, 000 to 300,000 child...
